


Sweetheart

by RaeWagner



Category: Real Person Fiction
Genre: Age Difference, Alternate Universe, Cheating, Date Rape Drug/Roofies, Drug Use, Dubious Consent, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Filth, Mental Health Issues, Molestation, Neighbors, Obsession, Other, Sexting, Sexual Abuse, Sexual Coercion, Sociopath, Stalking, Underage Drinking, Why Did I Write This?, i probably shouldn't write this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-05
Updated: 2019-04-10
Packaged: 2019-06-05 16:04:38
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,874
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15174338
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RaeWagner/pseuds/RaeWagner
Summary: shortly after moving in to her prestigious new home with her journalist socialite mother,young Valentina becomes the subject of her quiet, but malevolent poetry loving neighbor.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm probably gonna regret writing this. Oh well. I'm just existing at this point anyways. Yes, this is a real person I'm using but these are completely fictional other characters unless stated in the obvious. Purely fictional things are being written about.

**Preview**

With patient satisfied eyes, Bill watched as the young woman swayed a bit in her place. ‘’Mmm.’’ she inquired with a quiet, confused hum, soon she began to graceless gather her things. ‘’I’m tipsy.’’ at her own statement. She giggled. She started to head to the door hurriedly then, phone and keys in hand. Bill frowned and made two large steps at her, gently coaxing her items out of her hands.

  
  
‘’Oh, Yes.’’ he cooed. ‘’My dear. You are indeed very tipsy, you might even be drunk. Come here. It’s alright.’’ He brought her into his arms and kissed her hair lovingly. Valentina expressed her distress by trying to pull away while whining like a toddler. ‘’No. I’ll go now.’’ she told him stubbornly. She wasn’t that drunk. She hadn’t drank that much. But she felt light headed and dizzy anyways, with images around her being reduced to distinguishable blobs of color. She needed to get out of there. She wanted nothing more than to get out of there. Now. But he wasn’t letting her leave.Bill disguised his excitable ache with easy simulated kindness. He smoothed her hair back with a large hand and started pulling her towards his den; towards the couch.

  
  
‘’Your mother would absolutely slaughter me if you waltzed in inebriated.’’ Valentina couldn’t properly voice her anger with that fact that he was trying to justify what he was doing. She wasn’t that drunk. She was swaying on her feet, sure. But she could walk. She just couldn’t fight him.

  
  
‘’Just let me go home!’’ she whined again, this time slapping on his chest thrice before trying to roughly pull and separate herself from his strong grip.

  
  
‘’Nonsense. You’re nineteen years old and drunk. I’ll take care of you for a while.’’ He told her firmly. His tone making her whole body go cold in fear. His face turned hard, no-nonsense. He moved to gently lay her on the couch. ‘’There.’’ he mused, reverting back to his usual kind half smile. The sickly warm one that invited you in regardless of the imminent danger.

  
  
‘’I’m going to take care of you.’’

 


	2. Ch-1

_   
‘’ One time for the one time.’’ _

 

 

That’s what Valentina’s soon-to-be Ex-boyfriend texted her at 2 that morning. So she rose from her makeshift bed on the floor in her room and put on her shoes, not bothering to change her clothes. One time for the one time, for maybe the last time. Definitely the last time for a lot of things. The little blue car she would use to drive to Diego’s house for the last time would be sold and put into her savings account to save space until she had the means to buy a newer car. A car that would fit her mother’s means. ~~

  
  
‘’I can’t believe this might be the last time I’ll be able to get to do this.’’ Diego gripped Valentina’s legs and roughly pulled her downwards towards him and adjusted her position. He began kissing her thigh, his long hair tickling the insides of her legs. And his wet tongue was hot on her flesh As much as the want to slowly explore each other for what might be the last time was mutual, they didn’t have time. In 4 hours Valentina and her mother would be driving nearly across the country from their comfortable Carmichael apartment to join the rest of their belongings in the countryside in Los Angeles to start anew. She stopped her actions, resting her head on his thigh instead. 

  
  
‘’Shut up. Don’t make this shit sad.’’ She snapped at him. She sat up pulling her legs from his grip and clutched at his white shirt to pull him to her. She kissed him hard, feverish and impatiently, she trailed kitten licks down his jawline and started to leave love bites on his neck and collarbone. Part of her happy that he still allowed her to do this. Even though he’d been been angry at her. It was whatever now. If he was feeling sorry for himself then he should have taken advantage of situation when they had much more time. 

  
  
Valentina didn’t want to waste anytime. She was putting on a brave face but leaving Diego was the last thing she wanted to do. Her Valentine, her young love. What had started out as friendly, sexually charged banters turned into spending every moment they could together between work and normal social life. She didn’t want this to be the last time his hands and lips touched her body. The last hickey she ever leaves, the last time they ever fucked. 

  
  
‘’Shit, _ Mami. _ ’’ Diego and Valentina both whined upon Diego's entrance. He hissed at her welcoming warmth and started to pick up an even pace to Valentina’s dismay. 

  
  
‘’No, Fuck Me,  _ Por favor .  _ Now.’’ She commanded breathlessly while bucking her hips against him. Diego smiled and pinned her hands above her head before picking up his speed and pressure. Rough and needy. Just the way she needed it right now. It wasn’t usually how she like it, but it was what they both discovered they kind of liked when they were together, especially after countless bouts of arguing and silent treatments. Fucking the shit out of each other seemed to be the best make-up sex.

  
  
The only guy she’d ever been with, the only one who’d even been inside of her. The only one she thought she’d be with forever her release came hard, with the aftermath of the buildup leaving her in shudders. Diego’s thrust got slower and sloppier, soon he too found his release and collapsed on top of her. The two said nothing, Diego used a hand to gently smooth hair away from Valentina’s face and pecked along jaw. Good, if he were to speak now, she would probably snap at him. She didn’t need some cheesy goodbye. She wouldn’t be able to handle it. So they lay there tangled with each other in a comfortable silence. Until Valentina caught Diego staring at her. She craned her neck to look at him. 

  
  
‘’What?’’ she asked flatly. Diego’s deep set eyes saddened and he dipped his head to rest it on her chest. 

  
  
‘’I’m really gonna miss you, babe.’’  He mumbled against the damp skin. Valentina stared up at the ceiling, eyes watching the blades of the fan swing around like they were moving in slow motion. ‘’I’m gonna miss you, too.’’ she uttered back softly. 

  
  
‘’Let me up. I gotta get back.’’~~~~

  
  
‘’I expected a lot more kicking and screaming out of you.’’ Elisa, Valentina’s mother spoke from the driver’s seat. Her close set hazel eyes stayed on the road. She didn’t look over at her daughter. Afraid that she would be met with the same, agonized stare that Valentina had wore on her face for four out of five hours. 

  
  
‘’It’s the calm before the storm.’’ replied Valentina grimly. Elisa frowned and clocked her tongue. ‘’Well maybe that season will get cancelled before we get to the finale.’’ She suggested cheerfully. No one was forcing Valentina to move, but she now harbored a growing hatred for her father. The option to stay with him not existing… so in a way she was being forced. Tough luck getting her to reply. 

  
  
‘’We’re almost there,Dumbo.’’ Elisa now addressed the dog in the back seat, a little brown fluff of a dog with slightly pointed ears and a small, round, teddy bear face. Dumbo opened her mouth in sort of a whine/yawn type of thing. 

  
  
‘’Just think, Dumbo will have an entire back yard to run around in. there’s a dog park,  _ a mall.’’  _ she suggested coyly. To which Valentina just gave a acknowledging lift of her eyebrows and didn’t turn to look at her. Elisa sighed in defeat and went a little slump in her seat as she drove. 

  
  
The two drove in silence for a while, save for whatever low, depressing music Valentina was playing from her phone and the rapid, content panting of Dumbo in the back seat. ‘’Here we are.’’ Elisa chirped after some time. They had entered a captivatingly ducked off neighborhood. The front lawns alone were spacious, some of them with trees, some with bushes and some with both. The houses were somewhat placed closely together. They all followed a beige-brick- brown color scheme, with some decorated with bright yellow, and no door was the same. And all the lawns had character.  Feeling captivated in her new surroundings, Valentina felt herself perk up. 

  
  
‘’What do you think?’’ the trio had pulled up to a two story, beige house with dark tile roofing. The front door, she assumed, was on the other side of the house because they were met with a huge white garage door. 

  
  
‘’And to think. The only things we really have to unpack are our rooms.’’ Valentina’s lip twitched a bit into a sort of half smile. ‘’It’s cool. I haven’t seen the inside yet.’’ she replied unbuckling herself and getting out of the car. She went around to the other side and scooped up Dumbo while her mom went around to the front door.’’ There was a large bush with light blue berries next to the steps that led to the door. Valentina admired it for a while before finally allowing herself to step across the threshold. She was met with a hallway that led to a large, spacious area. Her shoes clicked lightly against the shiny wood flooring. The couches had been arranged facing north, In front of a fireplace which had a ledge where Valentina suspected her mother would place pictures she was fond of. 

  
  
‘’Come here!’’ Elisa ran to grab Valentina’s arm. She pulled her down a hall around a corner where there was a bit of a sunroom. The balcony doors were set up in the center. ‘’There are four rooms. One will be my office. And the other, we’ll use as a guest room and whatever you want. How about it?’’ Valentina surveyed the room on her heels a few times. It was her turn to sigh in defeat. 

  
  
‘’It’s pretty impressive.’’ She mumbled. Elisa smiled. But it faded when distinct shouting could be heard coming from next door. Two voices were shouting at each other, and quite harshly and seemingly in another language. Valentina walked over to open the balcony door a tad. 

 

  
‘’Don’t be nosy.’’ he mother scolded while walking behind her to close the door. 

  
  
‘’I’m sure that wasn’t on the brochure.’’ Valentina sneered jokingly as she took steps towards her new room. 

  
  
‘’Yeah. It said it was a relatively quiet neighborhood. No one is perfect. People fight all the time.’’ Elisa was saying. Valentina wasn’t really paying attention. She had long forgotten the screaming match from her neighbors and was now focused on her room. Her bed and desk had been propped up against one wall, her boxes of clothes, shoes and decor stacked up in one corner, and the rest hidden inside of her walk-in closet. She decided she would keep herself busy by setting up her room immediately. The sooner she got settled in, the sooner she could go out looking for work so she could save enough to go.. Anywhere else. 

  
  
~~~   
  
Valentina didn’t know how long it had been, maybe about an hour later when the screaming fit started back up again. Her eyes flew open at the sound of a distinct door slamming.  **Oh, right. These houses are ridiculously close to each other.** **  
** **  
** She reminded herself and pushed upwards from the floor so that she could stand. She shakily wobbled towards the other window to hear her neighbors, what for? She didn’t know. 

  
  
A man and a woman. The man’s voice was overpowering the woman’s. Valentina heard something being knocked over. And then the door to what Valentina guessed was the bathroom in front of her flew open. Valentina ducked instinctively, hitting the floor with a thud.

  
  
Even through the glass, Valentina could hear heavy pound on the bathroom door in her neighbor’s house. And the man was yelling in another language completely. Looking up, Valentina saw the string to the blinds, she stretched to reach up and grab it so she could bring the shutters down. Afterwards she stood back up. She was honestly fighting herself on whether or not she wanted to peek through the blinds. Back home in her comfy apartment complex she often heard couples fighting. Sometimes it even served as entertainment to her and her friends. A lot of angry mexican men yelling at their girlfriends and vice versa. 

  
  
She would save it. She went to the other window and closed those blinds as well. And then went through her boxes and dug through them until she found her dark curtains. 

  
  
~~~~   
‘’You know, I was just thinking how I could use your help in putting the kitchen together.’’ Elisa watched Valentina as she descended down the stairs. The younger girl shot her mother a look and playfully rolled her eyes. Her eyes drooped with sleep. But she joined Elisa in the kitchen and began unwrapping dishes from newspaper and putting them on the shelves. 

  
  
‘’I was trying to nap.’’ Said Valentina boredly. She was stacking plates her mouth pursed a little. ‘’Didn’t go very well.’’ Elisa laughed and cocked an eyebrow knowingly, at once picking up what her daughter was poking fun at.    
‘’Yeah. I didn’t count on the walls being so thin. I hope they’re not like that every night.’’ the corner Of Valentina’s mouth quirked up teasingly as she turned to her mom. ‘’If they are we won’t have to buy cable, just a Telescope and a tripod.’’ Elisa scowled playfully at her daughter and they shared a laugh. Valentina continued smiling. It had settled on her that there was really no escape from this. This was her new home now and she would have to make a new life. But the new digs weren’t that bad. 

  
  
The promise of Chinese takeout had Valentina smiling like a dork all over again. She hadn’t realized how hungry she was. The idea of a big bowl of beef fried rice had her salivating already. Smiling pleasantly, she turned to Elisa. 

  
  
‘’Perfect. I’ll finish the kitchen and walk Dumbo and you’ll get the food.’’ Elisa stared at her back as she turned and started to finish unwrapping dishes. With a sarcastic smile she snatched her car keys off of the counter and turned on her heel.~

  
  
‘’Gotcha!’’ Valentina had finally wrestled Dumbo’s pink walking harness onto her and grabbed her leash, which was also a matching baby pink. She grabbed the spare key and placed it in her back pocket as she stepped out of the door. The neighborhood was as eerily quiet as it was in the nighttime like it was the day. Nothing but the wind casually blowing and the occasional car that would pass up the road. Valentina essentially let Dumbo lead the way, letting the small dog explore her surroundings. Valentina made her way up the street opposite of her screaming neighbors house. Towards street lights that illuminated different lawns on her street. Some with sprinklers running, some actually had gnomes.    
  
  


When Dumbo finally decided to potty in a bush and Valentina was tired of feeling exposed, she turned around and started to head back towards the house.    
Around this time back home she would probably have been with Diego. Probably parked at some park or in his backyard on the open patio looking up at the stars. Not walking through a stark quiet neighborhood. When she got spooked enough, she reached down and scooped up her little dog, holding her close to her chest. It wasn’t like she was far from her house, or even that she didn’t see it. It was just that this neighborhood made her nervous.  She felt anxiety leave her being when her feet hit the safety of her front lawn. She placed Dumbo back down and sighed to herself. She noted to herself that she was overreacting extremely. Surely she was beginning to lose her mind. The thought of adjusting made her laugh. Sure she’d be able to do it, but she didn’t want do. Quickly she realized that she missed the crickets in the dark fields or catching fireflies at the church by Diego’s house. 

  
  
‘’Beautiful night, Isn’t it?’’ Valentina jumped in place with a little yelp. She had been standing in front of her house stuck in thought for about 5 minutes now. She turned slowly, her eyebrows raised in curiosity at the low voice. She scrutinized the man which the voice had come from. A tall, pale white man who had been momentarily staring up at the dark sky before looking down at her again. His eyes, well she couldn’t see what color they were from the moon and dim streetlights alone. She met him at the end of the sidewalk, Dumbo still in her arms and an awkward smile spread across her face. Dumbo’s tail began to wag and her tiny body wriggled excitedly at the presence of the new person. 

  
  
‘’Ah. Hello.’’ Valentina craned her neck to look up at the lamp post of a man. ‘’Err. Sorry if I startled you.’’ he began with a trace of an accent Valentina didn’t recognize. As he reached down to pet a whining Dumbo,she squinted a little to make out the color of his eyes, an attempt which was unsuccessful. To cover up her mistake, she shook her head and laughed softly. ‘’Only a little. I was spacing.’’ She said while beaming. He was an attractive man. With neat hair parted to the side. He kind of reminded her of Freddie Highmore when he was playing Norman Bates. He laughed at her response. ‘’Oh.’’ He muttered. ‘’I thought you were looking up at the moon.’’ Valentina blushed, maybe she should have lied and said that’s what she was doing. She shifted Dumbo to one side as she stuck out her hand. ‘’Um, I’m Valentina. My mom and I just moved in from Carmichael.’’ The man took her hand in both of his and gave a firm squeeze. ‘’I’m Bill, my girlfriend and I live next door.’’ Valentina bit the inside of her cheek to keep herself from laughing. 

  
  
So, this was one out of two that had contributed to the screaming match huh? She couldn’t see it, with his nice smile and the soft tone he was using with her.

 

‘’Cool!’’ Was all she said. ‘’I hope to know one another.’’ Said Bill then, making her raise an eyebrow. He smiled warmly in an attempt to coax her out of her obvious anxiety. Valentina rolled her shoulders back and smiled again. ‘’Right.. Well I’m sure we will!’’ She turned to make an excuse about getting her dog inside and waved goodbye, her brain sending warning signs all throughout her body. He waved her off with a smile and the promise that they would speak again. She didn’t turn around on her way to her door. But she still felt the eery chill as if someone was watching her back.


	3. ch-2

  
  
_‘’Hey, It’s Di. you know what to do.’’_  Valentina laid on her side with the phone pressed against her face, the sun not quite coming through the curtains, but a line of light was seen under the seam. She looked down at her phone again in expectancy only to be met with disappointment. She had only called Diego twice. Each time no answer.

  
  
With a sad sigh, She rolled over onto her back and looked up at the ceiling. He’d maybe call her back later. Maybe he was grieving. She replayed Diego’s sad expression in her head the night she drove off. A lump in her throat arose and she blinked back tears that were rapidly forming in her eyes.

  
  
‘’Val?’’ The sound of Elisa knocking on her door made her thrust her phone under her pillow and wipe at her eyes hurriedly before granting the verbal permission for her mother to come in. Elisa revealed herself already dressed with a smile. She wore a nice dress suit top with a pencil skirt. Her shoulder length brown hair pulled into a low sleek ponytail. She stepped fully into Valentina’s room and opened her hands excitedly.

  
  
‘’So?!’’ She asked doing a slight spin. ‘’What do you think? Too _Penelope Garcia_?’’ Valentina giggled and sat up bringing her knees to her chest. ‘’Mom you’re a teacher who teaches Journalism education. You couldn’t look any more professor-y.’’

  
  
‘’That’s not a word.’’ Elisa teased while scrunching up her nose. Valentina waggled her eyebrows playfully and dragged herself out of bed. ‘’It is now.’’ she replied curtly.   
  
‘’Get dressed.’’ Elisa told her while surveying around the room. ‘’I want to start having breakfast with you every morning before work.’’ With a giggle she excitedly ran out of the door with Valentina watching her. With a sigh of contempt, Valentina felt a little guilt wash over her. Her mother thought their last home was a hell hole and now she was prancing around their new digs like she was 18 again and her parents have left the house to her for the weekend.

  
  
‘’I kind of feel bad for giving her hell about this place.’’ She muttered Dumbo, who was still a blob of sleepy brown fur on her neighboring pillow.   
Valentina dressed herself quickly and ran her fingers through the bushels of fluff on top of her head to manage it into a comfortable looking mess before finally following the sound of a blender downstairs accompanied by the smell of potatoes.   
  
‘’ _Ba!_ ’’   
  
Elisa jumped nearly two feet in the air at the sudden verbal attack from an amused Valentina. She turned around shaking the chrome spatula in her hand. ‘’I almost shoved this down your throat.’’ she growled and placed two eggs and a hashbrown onto an old plastic, heart shaped plate. Valentina’s favorite plate. The paint was a bit chipped from the age and the many passes it had gone through in the dishwasher. But it was still recognizable as an old Beauty & The Beast plate with Belle and Prince Adam sharing a loving embrace in the snow. even with his beastly form, Bell still looked up with such adoring eyes.

  
  
‘’Sorry, It was a bit rushed. I couldn’t really find all the pots and pans.’’ Elisa was saying, as she said this between pushing her fork into her eggs, she shot a sidelong glance at Valentina, making her smile.

  
  
‘’You said you needed help.’’ She muttered as she stuffed her face.

  
  
Valentina liked that she and her mother were close to this level. They always joked around. And Elisa was a teen mom, so she understood much. Elisa looked at the clock casually before picking up another conversation topic.

  
  
‘’Have you talked to your father? To tell him we made it safely at least. Neither Valentina or Elisa looked at each other in the eye. It was a few seconds before Valentina finally answered. She chewed slowly around a mouthful of hash-browns.

  
  
‘’I didn’t. I probably should.’’ She replied. When Elisa was done, Valentina shot up to grab both of their plates and dumped them into the sink to wash them. Elisa was watching Valentina’s back for a few seconds and smiled to herself.

 

 

“I have to Thank you properly for doing this for me, _Bebe. “_  Valentina turned to reply, but both women were surprised by the ringing of the doorbell and Dumbo’s triggered yipping. Valentina’s face scrunched up a little bit as she turned to face the source of the noises.

  
  
‘’I wonder who that could be at this hour.’’ She was fixing her shirt and already heading to the door, standing on her tiptoes to peek out of the peephole.

  
  
‘’Oh!’’ She exclaimed and pulled the door open after a few seconds. Valentina didn’t move immediately she peered around the corner a bit to see who her her mom was talking to were talking to. A few seconds later her mom did something that Valentina had been internally fearing; she turned to her and waved her over. Valentina successfully resisted the urge to roll her eyes and pushed her torso off of the counter whilst walking she bent down to scoop up Dumbo in her arms and hold her close to her chest before joining her mother at the door.

  
  
It was the man from the night before. This time, a beautiful model-esque type blonde was standing next to him. At the sight of him, Dumbo started to wriggle her little nub of a tail wagging excitedly. ‘’Miss Valentina, We meet again.’’ Said he as he reached out to pet Dumbo. He was certainly taller than her but the couple towered over both Elisa and Valentina. She had striking blue eyes to match his beautiful green ones and nice, pouty lips like he did, but hers were perfect, while his were full and awkward, but still handsome.   
  
  
‘’Oh my!’’ The woman exclaimed, she looked like she wanted to bend her knees to their level. Valentina knew how to spot that look in people’s eyes.   
‘’We are neighbored by _two_ little lovelies.’’ She crooned, she had the same slight accent that the man had, but hers was slightly thicker.   
  
  
‘’Yes, I was telling your mother I met you last night.’’ Bill turned to the woman affectionately and put a hand on the small of her back.

 

‘’This, Is my girlfriend, Fauna. We’ve lived here for some time now and we love it here.’’ Valentina stuck out her hand and introduced herself to Fauna. Her hands were so soft. ‘’Look, _Bebe._ ’’ Elisa exclaimed, and only now did Valentina notice that she was holding something.   
  
‘’It’s Banoffee Pie.’’ Fauna exclaimed. Her face twisted affectionately as she started to explain the ingredients. ‘’Bananas, Toffee, biscuits, or, cookies if you will-’’   
  
‘’Sugar.’’

  
Elisa added. ‘’Her favorite. Um. I was just saying how I would love to invite them in. But someone in particular took a break from helping get the house together.’’ Valentina flushed as the three adults laughed together After Elisa blatantly jerked her head in her direction. ‘’And I have to get going to orientation.’’ Elisa put on a mock frantic face and handed the container to Valentina who juggled her dog to another arm. ‘’I’m so sorry to just run off like this!’’ Said Elisa as she continued down the drive and into her car.   
  
Bill and Fauna waved her off and then Fauna turned to Valentina with an apologetic smile on her face. The thing was, Fauna was so angelic looking; Valentina couldn’t tell if she was genuine or not.   
  
  
‘’I’m so sorry darling, I’ve actually got to run off, too. Flight to catch in two hours.’’  She oddly enough didn’t kiss bill goodbye or have any endearing parting words as she said goodbye to him and instead blew a kiss in Valentina’s direction, making her blush again.

  
  
‘’Fauna is a model.’’ Bill said snapping Valentina from her daze. She  more to herself gave a snarky grin more so to herself than him. ‘’I knew it.’’ She retorted as she watched Fauna enter the house. She gave a sidelong look to Bill, well, more like she was looking at him upside his head.   
  
‘’She has a shoot in London tomorrow evening. She’ll be gone until Thursday. So it’s just me.’’ Valentina gently smiled up to him, she could hear the longing in his voice as he said this. She awkwardly swayed on the porch out of her usual nervousness for a while as she thought of words to say that might cheer her up.

  
  
‘’-Seeing as we’ll both be alone for a while.’’ Bill said opening his mouth to speak at the same time she did except she hadn’t been able to get a word in, instead she obediently stood and listened.

  
  
‘’Would you like to come over for some tea? I figure you’re a girl of literature.’’

  
  
Valentina puffed her cheeks as he pointed this out. ‘’I mean, I know a few poets and songwriters back home. I’m into that.’’ she offered. To which Bill just smiled at her and held out his hand.

  
  
‘’That’s perfect, Shall we?’’


	4. Ch-3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello. I'm so so sorry I'e made you wait this long for updates. I'll have you know that I'm writing like crazy so expect a lot. I this whole story is a mess but It's so exciting and I'm so thankful and grateful you guys came to love it so much and I haven't even posted the interesting chapters... Yet.

 

  
Valentina, skeptical at first hesitated. What kind of reaction should she prompt from Fauna should she grab his hand? She didn’t want to be the cause of another late night fight should she be the jealous type. But of course she wasn’t. Not someone as stunning as her.   
  
Watching said blonde pull out of the garage, her gaze not bothering to extend over to the porch as she sped down the street in her candy red BMW. Valentina double checked that her own front door was closed behind her and she looked back up at Bill, ignoring his hand but agreeing.   
  
Well, she wasn’t doing anything else. And honestly he was so charming she really couldn’t think of a reason she should make-up to not get to know her new neighbor. Maybe he was lonely..

 

‘’Can I bring Dumbo? A-and the pie?’’ she asked feeling so small and childish suddenly. Bill did exactly what she thought he would; he laughed. Well, it was actually more of a chuckle. ‘’You’re precious. Of course.’’

 

she finally relented and began to follow Bill across the lawn to his house. Kind of grateful that her hands were continuing to be occupied for the time being.. And that Fauna had gone, taking Valentina’s unease with her.

 

He was tall, that much had been previously noted. A good six-four to her five-six. And he walked so.. Gracefully. His movements were lithe and almost catlike. But not like a housecat, more like a Leopard, long bodied and careful. Beautiful.   


If she closed her eyes, she bet she’d be able to follow the smell of him right up to his porch without missing a beat.

  
‘’ _Après vous._ ’’ He cooed softly as he opened the door to his home. Stepping in she noticed at once how it smelled exactly like him. Only this time it was more powerful, everywhere and she was slowly being intoxicated by it.   
  
The living room looked, no surprise, like something out of a magazine. With a blue Mexican quilt on the back of a black satin couch.   
  
‘’I like your Falsa. Did you get it in Mexico?’’ she guessed.   
  
‘’Fauna did.’’ Bill answered curtly and went around to the front of the couch. He peeled it back to reveal a medium sized light orangish spot in the middle. Followed by other little dots along the side of the back.   
  
‘’She spilled bleach on the couch once. And the couch itself was a gift I couldn’t dare throw out, nor her . So, blanket.’’ he explained. Valentina immediately pictured Fauna pouring bleach on the couch after a heated argument. In fact with what she heard and witnessed, she was sure that’s what happened. But she kept silent as he started to lead her through the house to the pristine kitchen. Her eyes wandered to the cliche pictures on the walls. Some pieces of artwork, some pictures of Fauna. And a few pictures of Bill himself.

 

They had a cute dining room table and everything including the cabinets were a dark wood and the island was a golden marble. It was very comforting.   
  
‘’Ah..’’ Bill exclaimed as he rushed forward to take the pie tin out of Valentina’s hand.   
  
‘’You can set your little dog down, I assume she’s house trained.’’ Valentina internally sighed as she set Dumbo down and shook the slight numb feeling out of her arms as Dumbo began to sniff around.

 

‘’What made you and your mom move out here?’’ Bill asked suddenly. Valentina took a seat at one of the barstools and watched Bill prepare a kettle on the stove, she absentmindedly watched his back muscles flex a bit before  

 

‘’Err. Mom decided she wanted to get back into teaching. And she found a job out here. I’m here because of complicated reasons.’’ she tried to leave it at that, opting for questions to further get to know him. But to her curiosity he gave rather vague, straight to the point answers.  
  
‘’I’m sure you’re more interesting.’’ he explained and produced two large cream colored mugs of hot golden liquid.

 

‘’It’s just a British blend that I like. I like to collect teas.’’  
  
Valentina thanked him quietly and watched him retreat behind her to grab something while she took a sip. She noticed at once that the taste was sweet. And as it went down her throat, she started to relax. Her shoulders sank as a sudden wash of comfortability flowed over her.   
  
When Bill appeared next to her again he was holding a thick black, leathery book.

‘’My anthology. You can read over them while I cut you a slice of banoffee. I saw how your hand was clinging to it.’’ a wry smile came across Valentina’s features as she pulled the book towards her. His slightly hooded eyes looked so focused as he opened the tin and lifted a pre-sliced piece to place it onto a white plate.  
  
‘’Have you ever had banoffee?’’

 

Valentina shook her head no as she started to sift through Bill’s anthology.

 

‘’But my mom kind of told on me, I do have a huge Sweet tooth.’’ She smiled in satisfaction when he pushed the plate over to her. Offering a smile from his full lips when she took a bite and went still. Her face must of lit up because Bill laughed.  


She couldn’t help but smile back. And it wasn’t forced. ‘’Now.’’ Said Bill coming around to take a seat at the barstool next to her. ‘’Did you see one you liked? I write at least one a day. That’s a new book.’’ with eyebrows raised to show she was impressed, Valentina lifted her her pinky and pointed to a title in question.

 

‘’Sugar and spice.’’ she read aloud.

 

‘’The one about how you messed up a recipe, but you’re obviously alluding to a girl.’’ Bill was looking at her with an elbow on the island and lips set in a contempt smile.   
  
‘’How did you know?’’ he questioned. After shoving a forkful of pie into her mouth to cover her nerves. She used her finger to underline the quote marked by a black ball point pen.

 

‘’’ _A panic push and pull of emotions and arms as you realize that a little more is too much and not enough caused the disaster that ended it all’_ Like, you give them so much they become suffocated and but ease up and try adding a little something else and it just turns out gross.’’ she explained to which he said nothing at first. Only listened as she impressively broke down his writing but frowned when she suddenly pushed the plate further up on the island.   
  
‘’It’s not good, the pie?’’ asked Bill, his eyes narrowing in concern.

 

‘’No! The pie is amazing. It’s my boyfriend- Ex-boyfriend wrote a song about the same thing when we first met.’’ the memory of Diego chasing her nonstop before they had gotten together. And she only put up the fight because of things that were going on at home at first. So it may have seemed like she was leading him on in the beginning.   
  
Valentina jumped slightly when a hand landed softly on the small of her back. Bill’s stunning green eyes were boring into her face and there was a spot of heat where his hand now was. And the intensity left her kind of speechless. She thought back to some her last words to Diego. Not to make things sad. So she sipped some of her tea and turned to him.   


‘’Yeah. Sorry.’’ He waved her awkwardness away with one hand  and pulled his black book back towards him. His brown silky hair hung a little in his eyes as he looked down to flip open to a spare page.  
  
‘’Let’s start a new one, shall we?’’ in confusion, she tilted her head. Making Bill beam at her.

 

What she was sure was supposed to feel like a comforting look felt more intense than she’d ever felt before. She dare say she felt little bolts of electricity flow through her.   
  
‘’ _I’m_ Not a poet.’’ she didn’t mean for it to come out so bashfully. But she wasn’t. The little book she kept was a secret that only Diego knew about. She forced a smile as Bill when he produced a pen. Looking at her and chewing on the end a bit, he hummed.   
  
‘’Okay.’’ he was pulling the plate back to her and took a sip of his own tea. Instinctively, Valentina went for the pie again. Bill chuckled at this and started to scrawl some words down on the paper.   
  
‘’Do you have a lot of people over to talk about your poems with?’’ Bill’s hand stopped and he looked down at the page for a while before smiling sadly. ‘’Not as often as I’d like. Fauna likes poetry, but not mine. And our neighbors, they’re nice enough but I know you’ve heard us in your short time here.’’ Valentina made a face that betrayed her and that caused Bill to scoff and close his book in a haste.   
  
‘’We don’t mean to disrupt the peace. At least I don’t!’’ he suddenly breathed and rather harshly, startling Valentina a bit.

 

‘’It’s just gotten a bit more stressful. She just makes it so damn hard sometimes.’’ the contrast between the man now and the man before was almost shocking. He was seething through his teeth and his hair had become a little tousled because he kept running his hands through it. Valentina tried to look anywhere but him. She was awkward with this kind of stuff and she’d just met this man! She came over for tea, not for therapy.  
  
  
‘’I’m sorry little one. Did I ruin your appetite?I didn’t mean to go off like that, you probably guessed that visitors are rare.’’ Valentina’s head snapped up and she shook her head unconvincingly. ‘’No! I’m listening.’’ she swore and looked back into his face. Hastily and with quick thinking, she pulled his book back towards him and opened the page to see what he’d began writing.   
  
_A spot of shared light._ It read. And she pulled the pen towards her after skimming over the first few lines.   
  
_The moon, an almighty but sensitive. It sees all and allows us to see._   
  
‘’Starting new, remember?’’ she tried to sound comforting. She wasn’t sure if it worked for him. Thankfully, he eased back into his chair.   
  
‘’I have to thank you for allowing me to drag you over here.’’ he crooned softly, his eyes heavy with emotion now.   
  
He was so handsome. Once or twice Valentina let her eyes wander along his jawline and settle on his lips.  She was sure her face was probably flushed, so she tried hard to look like she was ever so focused on on adding lines to his poem.   
  
_It’s so far and separated from us but it’s like we’re under it’s protection.  We share the moon’s knowledge yet only some of us know how to use it._   


‘’It’s not really a poem, but…’’ she trailed off as Bill was pulling the book to him.  
  
‘’But, it’s beautiful.’’ he commented and held his hand out for the pen, which she gave him. ‘’ _Reminds me of when I first saw you_ .’’ Valentina froze slightly.   
  
  
**_Nah. He didn’t just say that. He didn’t._ ** ****_  
_ ****_  
_ ****__  
Valentina did the normal thing and pretended not to hear him. She tried to think quickly so she could beat the awkward silence. But she didn’t have to; Dumbo did it for her.  
  
The little dog came running back into the kitchen, her little paws clicking on the tile as she began to turn in circles and yip in her rendition of a potty dance. In a mock panic, Valentina scooped up the pie and turned to Bill with an apologetic look on her face. ‘’I have to let her potty.’’ she explained and stood. ‘’I um. Think I’m going to head home for bit, wait for my mom to come home.’’ The last few lines of her explanation were slowed and rather hesitant as she locked eyes with Bill, who looked rather sad at her departure announcement. Hastily and guiltily, she groaned inwardly.   
  
‘’That poem.. It’ll um. Be finished the next time I come over?’’ she offered, to which the man lit up and stood with a somewhat triumphant smile. ‘’Of course.’’ he kept a hand on the small of her back as he walked her out.   
  
‘’Same time tomorrow then?’’ Bill chimed hopefully. He was looking down at Valentina with a wistful expression and she was too focused on making sure Dumbo didn’t run down the street.     
‘’Valentina?’’ oh right, his hand was lingering on her back, farther up this time, but it was warming, yet comforting. She smiled back, mirroring his warmth as she stepped away from his porch.   
  
‘’You bet!’’ she turned and started feeling a little bit more comfortable, a little more sure of him.

 

Maybe the warning had just been her paranoia.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys might really like the next chapter ;)

**Author's Note:**

> this is going to be a huge ass IDEK


End file.
